Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research cut Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $4.26 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $703.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.20. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $1.05 and a 12 month high of $5.78.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.01). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.38% and a net margin of 33.36%.The business had revenue of $113.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.84 million. Analysts anticipate that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ronald Silver sold 127,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.52, for a total transaction of $578,062.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 313,680 shares in the company, valued at $1,417,833.60. The trade was a 28.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julie McHugh sold 21,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.73, for a total transaction of $80,459.83. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 250,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $935,293.77. This represents a 7.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,695,544 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,321,000 after buying an additional 8,337,672 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,349,000 after buying an additional 4,140,439 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 144.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,165,637 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,422,000 after buying an additional 3,641,762 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,975,939 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $16,769,000 after buying an additional 58,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,424,002 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279,863 shares during the period.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a commercial‐stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines for gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. The company’s flagship product is linaclotide, marketed under the brand name LINZESS in the United States for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC). Through a strategic collaboration with Allergan (now part of AbbVie), Ironwood also commercializes linaclotide in select ex-U.S.